Five individual target sections of Southern Dallas are also graded on progress.

This year's report was presented to invited guests at the historic Texas Theater on Jefferson Boulevard. The thriving area of Oak Cliff around Jefferson Boulevard includes a new trolley extension and apartments under construction. It received an "A-" grade.

New apartments almost completed nearby will soon bring hundreds of new neighbors. Other entertainment businesses just north on Lamar give him confidence about upgrading his.

"We're going to start a coalition, a merchant coalition. And we're going to bring more awareness to the area like some of the surrounding areas – you've got Bishop Arts, you've got Deep Ellum," Bryant said. "When you think about what's coming in the next three years, we're set for a victory over here, down here in the Cedars."

"That's kind of tapped out to a point where it's kind of saturated. But these areas that are vacant, that's where everybody's coming," he said. "This is not a dream anymore. It's actually happening. It's a reality and that's a good thing about it."

Other parts of Southern Dallas have not seen the same upgrade. The Lancaster Corridor received a "D" grade in the 2017 Grow South grades. A large development planned on Lancaster Road across from the VA Medical Center has not gone forward. The street with a Dallas Area Rapid Transit rail line down the middle is dotted with rundown buildings and vacant lots.